Dubai: A driver, 30, has been jailed for three months for groping a waitress on a street.
The Filipina waitress, 25, was walking with her friend to a supermarket in Al Quoz Industrial Area at 1am in August, when the incident happened.
A group of Indian men were walking in the opposite direction on the pavement, when the two women walked in between the men.
One of the men, the driver, groped the waitress and caused her physical pain.
The waitress told off the accused, yelling at him before he cursed her and walked away with his friends.
The Filipinas followed the men and called out to pedestrians to help them catch the assaulter, till an African bystander restrained the man.
After reporting the matter to the police, the Indian culprit was apprehended.
On Thursday, the Dubai Court of First Instance found the defendant guilty of groping the woman. The accused denied the charge when he appeared in court and pleaded not guilty. “I didn’t touch her,” the accused said in court.
Presiding judge Habib Awad said the accused will be deported after serving his punishment.
The Filipina testified to prosecutors, saying: “When we walked between the men, the accused groped me. He grabbed me and caused me pain. When I scolded him, he cursed me. An African eyewitness helped me stop the defendant from walking away and the police came and arrested him.”
Thursday’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
